Maamba Collieries Limited mute on $160M ZESCO debt write-offZambia’s largest coal mine and the nation’s biggest Independent Power Producer (IPP) with Zambia’s only coal-fired Thermal Power Plant (TPP), Maamba Collieries Limited (MCL), has gone mute on the $160 million given up to the state-owned power company – ZESCO after a protracted period of dispute, negotiation, and final arbitration.
The debt between Maamba Collieries Limited and ZESCO had been allowed to accumulate to over $600 million as of 2021 due to the reluctance and dispute by the state-owned power utility Company – ZESCO to settle the bill.
According to the statement issued by ZESCO Managing Director Victor Mapani, Maamba power plant has since agreed to write off the receivables of $160 ($453 a situation which has raised suspicion that Maamba Collieries Limited (the parent company) may have deliberately and corruptly tried to over bill the public utility ZESCO as there has been no justification as to how this huge debt was allowed to continue to grow over time.
This means that the amount of debt owed by ZESCO to the Mamba power plant has been lowered down from $607 million to now only $250 million after the writing off of the $160 million as well as an additional payment of about $197 million by ZESCO to Mamba in the last two years.
When contacted for a comment by the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, the Maamba corporate affairs office could not comment on the matter stating that the country director was outside the country and was the only one authorized to speak.
“There is no one who can give you that information because the director PJ Sudhir left the Country for India on holiday and there is no one sitting in for him so you just have to wait for him to return.”
Maamba power plant is just another independent power producer – IPP after the Itezhi Tezhi Power Corporation – ITPC received half a billion dollars ($653) knock after ZESCO debt write-off following a protracted period of dispute, negotiation, and final arbitration.
The dispute between MCL and the state-owned power utility Company – ZESCO last year 2023 saw even Maamba shutting down operations at one of the 150 MW units thereby affecting the country’s power supply and leading to massive load shedding as the situation was only resolved after the closed-door meeting in which the Head of states President Hakainde Hichilema.
Meanwhile, the state-owned power company in Zambia (ZESCO) has been commended for bringing down the debt owed to IPPs from over $1,800 million in 2021 to now about $583 million representing over 32 percent decrease as of 31st January 2024.
Maamba Collieries Limited (MCL) operates a 300 MW (2 X 150 MW units) modern coal-fired power plant with the capacity to supply 10 percent of the country’s current installed electricity generation capacity.
MCL is owned 65 percent by Nava Bharat Singapore Pte. Ltd and 35 percent by ZCCM-IH, with some US$919 million invested since 2010.
The power generated from the Maamba is sold to ZESCO under a power purchase agreement for a period of 20 years.
